@2024 Afarand., IRAN

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ISSN: 2008-2630    Iranian Journal of War & Public Health 2020;12(1):35-42

Background
Identifying the prerequisites for the quality of life of neuropsychiatric veterans in a single model will lead to a better understanding of the quality of life of these individuals and, as a result, better provision of welfare services related to these prerequisites.
Previous Studies
… [1-15]. It has recently shown that spiritual attitudes lead to better processing of post-traumatic stress symptoms and increase a person's satisfaction with the current situation [16, 17]. The results of such studies suggest that the higher a person's spiritual attitudes and religious beliefs, the lower his vulnerability to post-traumatic stress disorder and the higher his quality of life [18, 19]. For example, assessing the effect of spiritual beliefs on post-traumatic stress symptoms showed that spirituality dramatically increases the quality of life of psychiatric veterans [20]. Health-related behaviors also influence the veterans’ quality of life. Previous research has confirmed the link between the quality of life and exercise and smoking [7], drugs [2, 6, 17, 21], and sleep quality [1, 5]. … [22-24].
Aim(s)
The aim of the present study was to design the causal model of prerequisites for the quality of life of neuropsychiatric veterans.
Research type
This research was a descriptive-correlational study using structural equation modeling.
Research society, place and time
This research was conducted during 2017-2018 among 260 neuropsychiatric veterans covered by the Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs of Kermanshah province.
Sampling method and number
According to the rule of thumb, 10 to 15 samples for each parameter that can be estimated in the model were considered and due to having 28 parameters in the present model, the sample size was considered 260 people, which was selected using simple random sampling method according to the list of psychiatric veterans of Kermanshah province.
Used devices&materials
After referring to the Martyr Foundation of Kermanshah province, the list of psychiatric veterans was obtained. Then, by referring to the treatment department of the Martyr's Foundation, the objectives of the research were explained to the veterans, and their consent to participate in the research was obtained. The subjects completed research questionnaires, including the short-form questionnaire of the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF), a short form of marital satisfaction questionnaire, researcher-made questionnaire to assess the satisfaction of Martyr Foundation services, spiritual attitude questionnaire, multidimensional perceived social support scale, and healthy lifestyle scale. SPSS 22 software was used to analyze the data. In the conceptual model of the research, the observed variables of spiritual attitude, satisfaction with the services of the Martyr's Foundation and the socio-economic base were considered as extraneous variables, and the latent variable of perceived social support and observed variables of marital satisfaction and positive behaviors and attitudes towards health was regarded as intermediate or mediating dependent variables, whereas the latent variable of quality of life was considered as the final or endogenous dependent variable. The model was drawn in AMOS 24 Graphics and analyzed using the maximum likelihood estimation method. Finally, to investigate the significance of the indirect effects of the model, the bootstrap method was used using AMOS 24 software.
Findings by Text
The coefficients of internal consistency for the research variables ranged between 0.74 for attitudes and positive behaviors towards health up to 0.95 for the spiritual attitude, which indicates the desired reliability for these variables (Table 1).All of the research model fit indices were optimal, and the CFI and SRMR were excellent. Therefore, experimental data confirmed the conceptual model of the research (Table 2).The estimated parameters for the basic model of antecedents of quality of life of neuropsychiatric veterans of Kermanshah province in the aging process, including factor loads, standard path coefficients, and a correlation between exogenous variables of the model showed that all the factor loads of the markers showed a significant effect on their latent variables. The strongest path coefficient for explaining the quality of life of veterans was the level of services provided by the Martyr's Foundation followed by the perceived social support path (Figure 1). In addition, the model could explain more than 20% of changes in marital satisfaction, 58% of perceived social support, 20% of positive behaviors and attitudes toward health, and more than 53% of changes in quality of life. Also, all indirect effects of the model were significant and the mediating variables played a significant role in the model.
Main comparison to the similar studies
The results showed that the direct positive and significant effect of perceived social support on quality of life. The results of several studies have shown that the more social support perceived by veterans, the higher their quality of life [3, 9, 10, 14]. The results showed the direct positive and significant effect of positive behaviors and attitudes towards health on the quality of life. Previous research has confirmed the link between the quality of life and exercise and smoking [7], drugs [2, 6, 17, 21], and sleep quality [1, 5]. The lower standards of the quality of life level, including quality of mental health, social relationships, and the environment are associated with an increase in the standards of mental disorders, including physical symptoms, anxiety and insomnia, social functioning, and depression [21]. … [25-31].
Suggestions
It is recommended to investigate other factors associated with the quality of life of veterans, as well as compare the quality of life of psychiatric veterans with that of other veterans to determine the extent to which the type of injury and illness can affect their quality of life.
Limitations
One of the limitations of this study was the difficulty in satisfying the subjects to cooperate due to their specific problems and the difficult access to veterans and the necessary coordination to conduct the study.
Conclusions
Teaching spiritual attitudes and behaviors related to health, as well as increasing the services of the Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs, can increase the quality of life of neuropsychiatric veterans.
Acknowledgments
The authors are thankful to all the psychiatric veterans who contributed to this research and patiently answered the questionnaires, as well as the officials of the Kermanshah Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs.
Conflict of interest
None declared.
Ethical Permissions
The ethical considerations were observed and the informed consent was obtained from the participants and also they were assured of the confidentiality of the results.
Funding Sources
This was extracted from a Ph.D. thesis by Jila Khanikhabad in Psychology at Islamic Azad University, Kermanshah Branch.

TABLES and CHARTS

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